Mobinil: Relative Drop In Q3 Losses Due To Improving Economic Conditions

The Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (Mobinil) emob reported a net loss of LE390 million ($54.5 million) in its unaudited consolidated financial results for the quarter ending on 30 September 2014.

This represents a 12.8 percent drop in losses for the mobile operator, compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year, for which the company reported a loss of LE447 million ($62.5 million), Mobinil said in a statement to the Egyptian Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Revenues rose by 4 percent in the meantime, recording LE8.2 billion in Q3 2014, compared to LE7.8 billion in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The company attributed the relative drop in losses to improving economic conditions since the country’s 2011 uprising, while blaming higher fuel prices and a newly-introduced 5 percent hike on income tax for rising operational costs and an increasing tax burden.

Last summer, the government of Egypt raised the prices of state-subsidised fuels by as much as 78 percent and introduced a temporary 5 percent additional income tax on individuals and corporations in an effort to reign in the country’s budget deficit.

A drop in international tourism to Egypt also caused a drop in international roaming revenues, said Mobinil.

Source: Ahram Online